Returning
by emerl01
Summary: Sacha gets a surprise patient one day. Eddie has returned from India with more than a little extra baggage.
1. Chapter 1

Hi all, sorry for the delay in writing something else, I've been busy doing up my new garden. Anyway, this story was inspired by some of the girls on the digital spy Luc and Eddie forum and is dedicated to them.

Chapter one:

Sacha sat at the nurses station, his mind swirling with toughts of Rachel, Chrissie and Daniel and of what a mess he had made of the whole bone marrow transplant saga. If only he had been honest with Chrissie, he thought to himself.  
His thoughts were interrupted by Marie-Claire.

"Sacha, there's someone coming in who I think you'll want to see" Marie-Claire said with a smirk on her face.

"What? Who?" Sacha asked waking up from his daydream.

"You'll have to wait and see" Marie-Claire teased. "The porters from ED are bringing the mystery patient over now" she continued.

"Who is it? Tell me " demanded Sacha.

Marie-Claire just nodded her head. Just then the door buzzed and a trolley came hurling towards the nurses station. Sacha got up from his seat and made his way to the other side of the desk.

When he saw the trolley's occupant he let out a gasp "Oh my god, Eddie" he exclaimed.

Eddie gave him a weak smile while clutching a bandage to her head. She looked pale as a ghost but still looked like his old friend. The nurse who had come over from the ED with Eddie started spouting out her vital statistics and telling Sacha what was wrong with Eddie. When she had finished, Sacha took the notes from her hand and politely told her he'd take it from here.

"Boy am I glad to see you!" Eddie exclaimed. "Those idiots in the ED dont know their arses from their elbows".

"I'll take that as a compliment, shall I" replied Sacha with a smile.

How he had missed Eddie's sarcastic wit. Sacha read through the notes.

"So you were involved in a car crash and banged you head on the car ceiling and have bruising to the shoulder and stomach and they want me to check that the baby is ok" Sacha said as he read out the notes. As he read the last bit he looked down at Eddie's stomach, she was heavily pregnant.

"Ok, Marie-Claire, can you help me move Eddie into the room behind the nurses-station, it's free isnt it?" asked Sacha.

"Yes" replied Marie-Claire.

They settled Eddie into the room and Sacha asked Marie-Claire to chase up Eddie's blood tests that the ED had taken.

While Marie-Claire was out of the room Sacha had a chance to speak to Eddie.

"So what have you been up to since I saw you last?" Sacha asked with a smirk while looking down at Eddie's stomach. He started to attach monitors to her.

Eddie sighed, "Well you know that I went to India right?" Sacha nodded.

"Well, a few months after I arrived there Luc showed up at the hospital I was working at and we got back together. He started working at the hospital too but in a different ward. We were living together and getting on really well. But the time came when my contract with the hospital was finishing up. So we decided to travel to another part of India. We had everything packed up in his campervan the night before we were due to leave Kerala. We went out for dinner for our last night in Kerala and I told him I was pregnant. He was shocked of course, so was I. But he seemed happy when we went to bed that night. Anyway, the next morning I woke up and he was gone, the campervan and everything. I stayed in Kerala for a few days but he didnt come back so I headed to Dehli with what bits of belongings I had left. I checked with the police before leaving Kerala to make sure nothing had happened to him but they didnt know anything. I went to Dehli and worked in a private hospital there for about 4 months to earn enough money to come back to Britain. I came back here about 2 weeks ago. I had been staying with my mum and Liam in Leeds for the last few weeks but my mum was starting to drive me crazy so I headed back here. I was on my way back to my flat here when that moron rear-ended me on the motorway."

"Wow, you've certainly been having some adventures" replied Sacha. "So you've had no word from Luc in the last 4 months?" asked Sacha.

"No, and I dont want to either. I'm going to raise this baby on my own. I dont need his help" Eddie replied angrily.

"Has anyone heard from him at all? Is he still in India do you think?" asked Sacha.

"I dont know and I dont care" replied Eddie, her eyes starting to well up.

"Ok, maybe we should change the subject. You getting all upset isn't good for you or the baby" Sacha said. "How's your head?" he asked changing the subject.

"I think it's stopped bleeding now" Eddie replied calming down. Sacha walked around the other side of the bed and lifted up the bandage.

"Yes, it's stopped bleeding but it will need a couple of stitches. I'll get Marie-Claire to get me a suture kit. The fetal monitor shows that the baby's heart rate is normal but I'd still like to check the little one is ok so I'll organize an ultrasound. How are you feeling otherwise?" Sacha asked.

"My shoulder is killing me. It must be from the seatbelt." replied Eddie.

"No nausea or dizziness?" asked Sacha.

"Yes to the nausea but I've been feeling that throughout the pregancy so there's nothing new there. No dizziness" Eddie replied.

"Good" replied Sacha. "Let me know immediately if you do. I'll go organize that ultrasound and will send in Marie-Claire to keep an eye on you" he continued.

"Oh please, not her, she's a nosy cow. I thought I saw Melanie out there, cant you send her in instead" begged Eddie.

"Oh, ok!" replied Sacha with a smile. He had to agree with her, Marie-Claire was very nosy.

Sacha left the room and made his way to the doctor's office, he needed some privacy to make a phone call. He called the maternity ward and asked for a midwife to be sent down to check on Eddie. He put the phone down and then took it up again, hesitating as he wasnt sure he was doing the right thing. He dialed Luc's english mobile number, hoping he would get an answer.

The phone rang, three, four times and Sacha was about to hang up when he heard "Hello, hello, yes I'm hear" from the other end of the line.

"Luc, is that you?" Sacha asked.

"Yes, it's me" Luc replied groggily.

"Hi Luc, it's Sacha" Sacha replied.

"Sacha, Sacha" Luc repeated before he finally recognised the name.

"Oh, hello Sacha. Sorry for not recognising you at first but you woke me up. I only arrived back from India last night and was sleeping off the jet lag" Luc replied in explanation. "How are you? And what can I do for you?" asked Luc.

"I'm fine. I think it might be a case of what I can do for you" replied Sacha.

"Oh yes, how come?" asked Luc.

"Ok, I'm not sure if you want to know this but Eddie is here in Holby and she's been in an accident" Sacha replied.

"Oh, my god. Is she ok? asked Luc panicing.

"Just a few cuts and bruises we think" replied Sacha.

"And the baby?" asked Luc.

"Yes, its got a strong heartbeat but we're going to give Eddie an ultrasound shortly" replied Sacha.

"Good. I'll be there in about 2 hours. I'm staying at a friend's place in London" Luc replied.

"Luc, the thing is, I dont think she wants to see you. She told me you deserted her in India after you found out about the baby" replied Sacha. "But I couldnt believe you'd do that to her so I had to find out for myself" Sacha continued.

"Sacha, I didnt leave her deliberately. In fact I've been looking for her for the last few months. I only found out that she'd left Dehli and was back in England 2 days ago and got the first flight here. I was planning on heading to Leeds later today to find her. Listen, I'm going to hop on a train to Holby as soon as I can and I'll see you in about 2 hours. Dont tell her I'm coming. I dont want her running off on me again now that I'm so close. I'll explain everything when I see you" replied Luc desperately.

"Ok" replied Sacha reluctantly.

"Please Sacha, dont let anything happen to them. You have no idea what I've been through over the last four months and how much I want to see Eddie again" replied Luc.

"Ok, I'll see you in few hours" replied Sacha.

"Ok. See you soon" replied Luc and then the phone went dead.

Chapter2:

Sacha returned to Eddie's room with the ultrasound machine. His conversation with Luc still swirling around in his head. He was in two minds whether to tell Eddie that Luc had been looking for her but eventually he decided not to tell her. He got Melanie to give him a report on Eddie's condition.

"Ok. Which do you want first, the head stitched or the ultrasound?" Sacha asked Eddie.

"Sacha, are you going as stupid as that crowd in the ED? The ultrasound of course" replied Eddie. "Please Sacha, tell me the baby's ok" Eddie begged.

"Ok, the ultrasound it is then" replied Sacha. Sacha wheeled the machine over to the bedside and helped Eddie pull up her t-shirt. He applied the gel to her bump. He started the ultrasound, checking the baby and looking to make sure the placenta looked ok.

"Ok. Everything looks ok to me but I'll get the midwife to double check everything when she gets here. Do you want to know if its a boy or a girl?" he asked. He wasnt sure whether Eddie would have had the chance to have an ultrasound scan done in India or since she got home.

"No, I want it to be a surprise. Thanks for asking though" Eddie replied. Sacha could see the relief in her face.

"Ok, then its time for stitches" Sacha replied as he took up some swabs and started cleaning up Eddie's head wound.

"Dont you have some junior doctor you could pawn that off to?" Eddie asked.

"Do you think I'd let some half trained junior doctor near our favourite former senior nurse?" replied Sacha. "Not on your life. In fact I would have called in Michael Spence to do it only I know for a fact that he's on holiday at the moment" continued Sacha.

"How is Michael?" asked Eddie.

"He's good. I dont get to work with him much these days as he's now working on Keller and Ric is working with us here in AAU" replied Sacha.

"Wow, Ric working on AAU. I bet that's fun!" replied Eddie sarcastically.

"It's not that bad. Ric's a good guy and he knows everything. It's like working with an encyclopedia" replied Sacha.

"Poor Sacha, you dont half get the best workmates, first encyclopedia Hemingway and then encylopedia Griffin" replied Eddie laughing.

"Ok. That's your head sorted out. I'll go and check where the midwife has got to. In the meantime, try to get some rest and I'll talk to you later" Sacha said before leaving the room.

He checked on the midwife, they had a number of emergencies on their hands in maternity so wouldnt be able to send anyone down to AAU for about an hour. Sacha asked Melanie to take half hourly obs on Eddie and told her to try to get Eddie to rest.

Sacha looked at the clock, Luc would be there in about an hour or so. He needed to make sure Eddie was still here when he arrived so didnt harass the maternity ward about sending down the midwife.


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks so much for the reviews so far. Hope you like this next bit.

Chapter 3:

Luc limped along the hospital carpark eager to get to the AAU doors. As he walked as fast as he could with his injured leg he remembered that night when he had ran out of the hospital after Eddie and had finally convinced her to go out on a date with him. Happier times, he thought. He hoped things could be like that again but he knew he had a fight on his hands. He'd need to fight to convince Eddie that he hadn't walked out on her and their baby back in Kerala. That things had happened to him that had prevented him from returning to her that morning with the breakfast he had gone out to get for them. He hoped the scar on his face and his injured leg would show her that he hadn't had an easy ride of it himself the last few months. He knew he had one thing to his advantage, Sacha would believe him when he found out what had happened and would help him to convince Eddie of the truth. He got to the doors of AAU and followed a porter in the door. He walked past the doctor's office and found Sacha at the nurse's station buried in patient's charts.

"Hello stranger" Luc said with a smile.

Sacha looked up from the charts to see a familiar face but one that had been through the wars.

"Hello stranger yourself" replied Sacha.

Sacha got up from the desk and quickly walked around it. He quickly pulled Luc into a big bearhug as only Sacha can do. Luc gladly hugged him back. Sacha stepped back and took a look at Luc.

"What happened to you?" Sacha asked noticing the scar on Luc's face and the fact that he had a walking stick in his hand.

"It's a long story which I'll tell you later but first I need to see Eddie" replied Luc his voice quivering with nervousness.

"I'm afraid she's only just nodded off to sleep, you'd better leave her for a few minutes. She's had an eventful day" replied Sacha. "Come on, we'll grab a coffee and you can fill me in on what happened to you" continued Sacha.

"Oh, ok. But only a quick one. I want to be there when Eddie wakes up. There's so much I need to tell her" replied Luc.

Luc and Sacha made their way to the coffee shop and sat down at a table after getting their coffees.

"So how much has Eddie told you?" asked Luc.

"Just that you were about to leave Kerala to go traveling and that she had told you she was pregnant but that you had ran off on her in the middle of the night taking most of her belongings with you" replied Sacha as concisely as he could.

"Ok, some of that isnt exactly true. I left the flat in the middle of the night because I couldn't sleep and needed to clear my head. I got in the campervan and drove to one of our favourite spots beside a lake a few miles outside town. I sat there thinking and watched the sunrise. I thought through everything and was hapily making my way back to our flat when I came across a body lying in the middle of the road. I stopped the campervan and got out to check on the person lying on the road. I looked around, there wasnt anyone else there. I got to the body and was checking the man's vital signs when I was hit over the back of the head. A group of men had appeared out of nowhere and demanded the keys of the campervan. I wouldn't give them to them so they started beating me up, one of them cut me with a knife on the face. They left me there lying in the middle of the road. I got up on my feet but they knocked me down with the campervan and sped off. They had run over my leg when they drove off. Anyway, I must have passed out with the pain. I woke up 2 days later in a missionary hospital in a small village a few miles from kerala" Luc paused to take a gulp of his coffee.

"I found out later that Fr. Brendan had found me on his way to Kerala and had brought me back to the missionary hospital for treatment. They had cleaned me up the best they could and had put my injured leg in a splint. It took me a day or two to get my memory back after I woke up. By the time I remembered about Eddie she had already left Kerala. I called the hospital in Kerala where we had worked but none of her friends there knew where she had gone, just that she had left town. I spent the next 2 months bedridden as my leg healed. I had to learn to walk again. Fr Brendan was very good to me and paid me a little for my services as a doctor. He also helped me contact the British Embassy in Dehli to get a new passport. At this point I still had no idea where Eddie was. I tried ringing Liam in the U.K. but didnt get an answer and I tried ringing her English mobile number but it was no use. Then just over 3 months after the attack Sunita who had worked with Eddie in Kerala called me and told me that she had found out that Eddie was working in a private hospital in Dehli. One of the doctors had told her this in passing one day. Apparently the hospital had rang him a few months earlier to get a reference for Eddie. I set off from Kerala, by train, by hitch hiking, anyway I could until I finally got to Dehli about a week ago. I got to the private hospital where she had worked only to be told that she had left a week earlier. I was sitting outside the hospital devastated when one of her colleagues came out to me. She told me Eddie had gone home to England to have the baby. So I called up a friend of mine in London and got him to buy me a ticket home and here I am" explained Luc.

"Oh my god. That's some story. She really doesnt have any idea about all of that?" asked Sacha.

"No. Look I know what she's thinking. I know she thinks I ran out on her again, that I was a coward. Please Sacha, you have to help me convince her that I didnt run out on her and the baby" Luc pleaded.

"Ok, no problem" replied Sacha brightly. "You'd better let me speak to her first though" continued Sacha. Luc and Sacha got up from the table and made their way back to the ward.

Chapter 4:

Sacha went into Eddie's room. He checked the monitors and made sure the baby's heart rate was ok. Eddie gently woke up from her sleep.

"How are you feeling?" Sacha asked.

"Like I've been run over by a truck. My shoulder's still killing me" she replied as she straightened herself up in the bed.

"I'll see if I can get you some more painkillers but our options are limited as you're pregnant" replied Sacha.

"You dont have to remind me, I feel like a beached whale at the moment and it's going to get worse before it gets better" replied Eddie. "It'll be worth it in the end though when I get to see my little munchkin" Eddie continued as she stroked her belly.

"There's someone else here who wants to see that little munchkin too" Sacha said.

"Oh, yeah. Who's that?" asked Eddie intrigued.

"It's father. Eddie, Luc is outside and he's begging to see you" replied Sacha.

"Well I dont want to see him" Eddie spat angrily.

"Eddie please, let him come in and talk to you. He needs to tell you what happened. I promise, he didnt run out on you and the baby deliberately. Please just hear him out. If not for your sake then for the sake of the baby. A child needs its father" Sacha pleaded.

This last comment really grated on Eddie, she thought back to the time her dad had left them and how hurt she had been at not having her father around. She thought about it and reluctantly agreed. Part of her was curious as to what excuse he would come up with for leaving her.

"Ok. But he's only got 5 minutes and then you have to throw him off the ward" replied Eddie.

Sacha ran out the door and ushered Luc into the room. Luc quietly entered the room, remembering that this was the room where they had all been quarantined on his first day working in AAU. A slight smile crossed his face but quickly vanished when he saw the look on Eddie's face.

Eddie watched Luc enter the room intently. The first thing she noticed was the large scar across his right cheek, it was healing but still had a long way to go. The next thing she noticed was the limp and the walking stick. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw the pain in his face as he walked. She was almost starting to feel sorry for him, almost.

Luc said a nervous "Hi" as he walked over to the chair beside her bed and sat down. He grimaced as he sat down and moved his injured leg into a comfortable position.

Eddie replied with her own nervous "Hi".

They sat there looking at each other nervously, neither of them knowing what to say. Eventually Eddie spoke.

"Ok, you've got about 4 and a half minutes until Sacha comes back in to throw you out so start talking" she demanded.

Luc opened his mouth and began telling her the same story he had told Sacha, editing it to suit Eddie.

Eddie listened intently as he described the beating, his recovery and his journey to Dehli to find her. The more Luc talked the more her feelings towards him softened. Luc could see by her face that she was beginning to believe him.

Luc finished what he had to say and looked at Eddie intently. He thought he could see her eyes water, but only slightly.

"Do you expect me to believe all of that?" she asked.

"Yes, because it's the truth. If you want I can give you Fr. Brendan's number in the missionary hospital or you can call your friend Sunita in Kerala and she'll tell you how I was looking for you" replied Luc.

"Luc, it's not that simple. I spent the last 4 months hating you for leaving me and our baby. You dont know how scared I was or how alone I felt in Dehli, all on my own in this massive, overcrowded city trying to scrape together enough money to live on and trying to save what I could to pay for my ticket home. You dont know how many nights I cried myself to sleep because I wanted you there with me, holding me and at the same time hating you for leaving me. You broke my heart again Luc" Eddie cried.

Luc got up from his chair and leaned over towards the bed. He grabbed Eddie wrapping his arms around her.

"I'm so sorry you had to go through all that. You dont know how many nights I lay in my bed wishing I'd never left our flat in Kerala that night. Wishing I had a time machine so I could go back and change things. Wishing I was with you in a bed somewhere kissing you and holding you. The only thing that kept me going for the last few months was the thought of seeing you again and getting to hold our baby. I love you both so much" replied Luc as tears streamed down his face.

Eddie gripped onto Luc tight, breathing in his musky scent. She started to feel woosy but blamed it on being wrapped up in Luc's arms again.

Just then the door swung open violently as a heavy set midwife entered the room noisily, disturbing the reunion. Eddie and Luc gently pulled apart.


	3. Chapter 3

Thanks for the reviews so far, but come on people, let me know what you think!

Chapter 5:

The midwife took one look at Eddie and didnt even introduce herself as she recognised Eddie straight away. They had had a number of run-ins when Eddie had worked in the hospital. It took Luc a few seconds to recognise the midwife, then he realised that she was the one that Eddie had the blazing row with in the corridor a few days before she left Holby. The midwife's expression turned to ice.

"Well, well if it isnt Nurse McKee. Which lucky man got you into this state?" the midwife asked sarcastically.

Eddie didn't respond, she was starting to feel woosier and woosier. Luc stepped in instead.

"I'll thank you not to speak to a patient in this hospital like that. Oh, and by the way I'm the lucky man" Luc replied angrily.

The midwife backed down and took up Eddie's chart to look at it. A look of concern came over her face. She noticed that the baby's heart rate had been gradually getting slower over the last few hours. She immediately went over to the ultrasound machine.

"I need to check the baby, can you pull up your t-shirt?" she asked Eddie. Eddie weakly pulled up her t-shirt and the midwife got on with the scan. Luc moved around to get a better look at the screen. He was mesmerised by the images of the baby on the screen and his eyes began to water. It suddenly hit him that he was going to be a father. He looked over at Eddie but she had her eyes closed.

"Eddie, do you see this? It's our baby" he asked but Eddie didnt respond. Luc walked over nearer the bed and touched Eddie's face.

"She's ice cold" he exclaimed to the midwife.  
The midwife didnt respond as she was concentrating on the screen. "Ok, this is really not very good" she finally said.

"What's wrong?" asked Luc.

"We need to get your girlfriend into surgery now and deliver this baby, she's slowly bleeding out from a placental abruption" shouted the midwife panicing. She reached over to the wall and pressed the emergency button. All hell broke loose as Sacha and a number of nurses came speeding into the room. The midwife quickly explained to Sacha what was happening. Sacha made straight for Luc.

"I'll do my best for them, I promise" he quickly said to Luc before running out of the room after Eddie who was been driven quiclky towards theatre in her bed. Luc hesitated for a minute and then ran after them.

Luc ran into the threatre area, pulled off his jacket as fast as he could and started getting himself dressed in a gown and mask like Sacha was doing beside him.

"Luc, you can't help. She's your girlfriend" Sacha explained.

Luc looked at Sacha as if he was saying something foreign to him. "I know but I have to be there if only to hold her hand" replied Luc.

Sacha nodded, he understood what Luc meant. Sacha quickly set to work performing the c-section on Eddie. The theatre was frantic with nurses coming in and out with equipment. Sacha lifted the baby out of Eddie's stomach and quickly passed it to a waiting nurse. Luc followed behind the nurse as she brought the baby over to the side of the room to clean it up. There was no sound coming from the baby which made Luc panic even more. The nurse quickly applied a tiny oxygen mask to the baby's mouth and a small squeal came out of the baby. The nurse turned to Luc and smiled.

"You have a little girl, she's tiny but she's breathing on her own" she said to Luc. Luc smiled as tears rolled down his face.

"You can hold her for a minute or 2 but then we have to put her in an incubator" the nurse said to Luc as she handed him his daughter.

Luc gently held the tiny baby and kissed her on the forhead. "Hi little one, I'm your daddy" Luc whispered to his daughter.

He quickly brought her over beside Eddie's head. "Say hello to your mummy little one" Luc whispered and the baby let out another little squeal. Eddie was still unconscious but Luc thought that maybe she'd hear her baby's cry.

At that exact moment Sacha exclaimed "I think that's it fixed" talking about the bleed inside Eddie that he'd been frantically trying to repair.

"The impact of the car accident caused more internal damage to her than the scans showed but it looks like we got it in time" Sacha continued. The nurses and theatre staff let out a small cheer.

Luc patted Sacha on the back and said a quiet thank you to him.

"You got with the baby and I'll finish up here with Eddie. I'll let you know when she's back on the ward" Sacha said to Luc. Luc took Sacha's advice and followed his baby daugter to the nursery ward.

Chapter 6:

Eddie woke up about two hours later. She was really groggy and confused. She turned her head to find Sacha asleep in the chair beside her bed.

"Sacha, Sacha" she called weakly.

Sacha woke up with a start. "Hey, how are you feeling?" he asked.

"Like I've been run over by a ten tonne truck" Eddie replied with a weak smile. "What happened?" she asked.

"We had to perform an emergency c-section because you had some internal bleeding. It's ok, I sorted you out" Sacha replied with a smile.

Eddie looked down at her stomach and started to panic. "The baby?" she asked.

"You're little girl is in an incubator in the nursery. She's a little fighter like her mum" Sacha replied beaming.

Eddie smiled and tears started streaming from her eyes.

"Luc's down there with her. I told him I'd bring you down when you woke up" Sacha continued.

"Well what are we doing hanging around here then?" asked Eddie excitedly.

Sacha ran out into the ward and grabbed a wheelchair. He brought it back in and helped Eddie into it along with all of the drips and bags that were still attached to her.

Sacha wheeled Eddie down to the nursery as fast as he could, trying not to run over anyone along the way. They got to the nursery window and Eddie told him to stop. She quietly watched Luc giving their tiny baby a bottle while sitting in a rocking chair for a few minutes and then told Sacha to start driving again.

Sacha wheeled Eddie into the nursery and parked her beside Luc. Luc smiled at Eddie and she smiled back at him.

"Little one, say hello to your mummy again?" Luc said to his daughter. The baby just gurgled.

Eddie moved closer to them and lightly brushed her daughter's face. "Hi little munchkin. So you've been the one kicking me for the last few months" she said as tears streamed down her face.

"She's having her first bottle and we've just changed your first nappy, havent we" Luc said.

"She's so small" Eddie said.

"She's not that small, she's 4 pounds and 5 ounces which the nurses tell me is a good size considering how premature she was" Luc told them proudly. They all smiled.

"Congratulations you two. I'm going to go now. I've got Daniel for the night. I'll see you three tomorrow" Sacha said.

"Thank you so much for everything" Luc said.

"Yes, thank you so much" Eddie said. She pulled Sacha down to her and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Sacha smiled and left them.

Eddie turned her attention back to the baby and Luc.

"How are you feeling now?" Luc asked.

"Very weak and really tired" Eddie replied as she tilted her head and rested it on Luc's shoulder. He turned his head to her and kissed her forehead.

"You can hold her in a minute or two when she's finished her bottle and then its back to bed for both my girls" he said smiling. Eddie took her daughter's hand and looked at the tiny id bracelet on it. It read Baby McKee.

"You didnt get them to call her Hemingway then?" she asked.

"No. It's hospital policy to give them the mother's surname" replied Luc. "Speaking of names, what are we going to call her?" he asked.

"I like the name Ava, what do you think?" Eddie replied.

"I like it, she looks like an Ava. And a middle name?" Luc asked.

"I dont know. Any ideas?" asked Eddie.

"How about Lilly after my grandmother?" Luc asked.

"Ava Lilly, sounds good to me" replied Eddie.

"I think that's it settled then. Are you finished your bottle Ava Lilly McKee?" Luc asked his daughter. Ava Lilly gave out a tiny burp and Luc and Eddie laughed. Luc handed the baby to Eddie who cradled her in her arms until both of them fell asleep.

Luc gently put Ava back in her incubator and kissed her. He then gently wheeled Eddie back to her bed on the ward trying his best not to wake her up.


	4. Chapter 4

Hi all, thanks for the lovely reviews and the mention on the DS Luc and Eddie forum, I'm stoked. I hope you all like the next bit.

Chapter 7:

It was thirty six hours later and Luc had spent practically all of his time at either Eddie's or Ava's bedside looking after them. He had gotten some sleep here and there in between feeding Ava at the nursery usually when sitting at Eddie's bedside. He looked exhausted and was starting to smell bad. Eddie woke up from a nap to find Luc asleep in the chair beside her yet again. She noticed the smell and decided something had to be done.

"Luc, Luc, wake up" she called.

Luc woke up with a start. "What, what's wrong? It's not feeding time again already is it?" he asked.

"No, it's not. But it's time for something else" Eddie said grinning.

"She can't have another dirty nappy already" Luc asked.

"No, Ava's fine. Come here" she said beckoning him over. Luc did as she asked. He got up from the chair and sat down on Eddie's bed beside her. Eddie put her hand on Luc's face and kissed his injured right cheek.

"I need you to do something for me" Eddie said.

"No problem, what do you want?" Luc asked smiling.

"Can you hand me up my handbag?" Eddie asked.

Luc bent down and picked up the handbag out of the locker and gave it to her. Eddie rummaged around in it until she found her keys.

"Luc, I want you to go back to my place, have a shower and shave and have at least 7 hours sleep in a normal bed" Eddie said.

"I dont need to, I'm fine" replied Luc indignantly.

"Luc, trust me, you need to. You smell really bad and you look exhausted" Eddie said as nicely as she could.

"I dont need to I'm fine" Luc insisted again.

"Sweetheart, if you dont do something now Ava is going to think her father is a smelly wookiee called Chewbacca" Eddie said with a grin.

"Ok, I'm not that hairy or smelly. Dont you think you're exaggerating a tiny bit?" asked Luc.

"Ok maybe I'm exaggerating a little bit but you still need to get out of here for a few hours. Dont worry about us, we're not going anywhere. Besides, it's about time Ava and I got some girlie time alone together" replied Eddie as she tried to convince Luc to go.

Luc thought about it for a few minutes.

"Oh, alright then. I supposed I could do with a shower and a change of clothes. I dont think I've had a shower since India" Luc replied trying to remember the events of the last few days.

"Since India? Oh my god, Luc!" Eddie exclaimed while playfully holding her nose.

"Oh, ha ha!" Luc replied as he wrapped his arms around Eddie and hugged her as tight as he could so she'd get the full effect of his smelliness. Eddie playfully tried to struggle out of his grip. Luc lowered his head down so that his lips were level with Eddie's and gave her a long lingering kiss.

The door swung open and Melanie walked in to do some checks on Eddie. Luc and Eddie gently pulled apart. Luc gave Eddie another quick kiss on the lips and whispered in her ear "see you in a few hours. I love you" before leaving the room.

Luc made his way to the nursery to say a quick goodbye to Ava, giving her a kiss on the forehead as she slept in her incubator.

Chapter 8:

Luc soon made his way to the door of Eddie's flat, he put the key in the door and turned the key. He was immediately hit by the musty smell of the flat. It had been unoccupied for a few months ever since Eddie's last tenants had left but Liam had used it a few times since then to stay in when he visited friends in Holby. Luc looked around the sitting room and kitchen, the place was surprisingly clean considering Liam had stayed there sometimes. As he looked at the bookshelves in the sitting room one book caught his eye. It was the book he'd left for Eddie when he had left her that first time. He was surprised to see that she still had it and that she hadn't defaced it in some way. He wondered whether she had actually read it. He made a mental note to ask her that someday. He put the book back in its place.

His eyes were getting heavy so he made his way to Eddie's bedroom. He dumped his bag on the floor and undressed down to his boxers. He searched the chest of drawers to try to find a t-shirt to wear to bed and was surprised to find one drawer containing two of his tshirts, his shirt and his trousers all washed and neatly folded on top of each other. He lifted them out of the drawer and found a pair of his boxers at the bottom of the pile. He looked at the clothes puzzled as in his tired state he couldn't ever remember leaving his clothes behind any time he had previously stayed at the flat. He made another mental note to ask Eddie about the clothes. He threw a clean tshirt and boxers on the bed, grabbed a towel from the hotpress and headed for the shower.

As he washed himself in the lukewarm water he felt like he was finally washing all of the horrible events that had happened to him in India away. The smell of the English lavender shower gel he used to wash himself with announced to him that he was finally back in England, his home despite all his travels. It also reminded him of Eddie. The smell of lavender he always got when she walked past him in the ward had always been comforting to him, even in the beginning when all they seemed to do was fight with each other. He smiled to himself as he remembered some of the arguments they had had about patients back then.

Luc finished his shower, dried himself off and got dressed into the clean boxers and tshirt. He pulled back the bedcovers and happily got into the soft double bed. As he tried to fall asleep he thought about Eddie and Ava and about their future. The things that Eddie had said to him about her time in Dehli when she was alone and scared and was trying to scrape the money together to get home kept flying around in his head. Luc resolved to make sure that she never felt like that again and he knew exactly how to stop that happening again. The only thing was he would need to go to London and see the family solicitor to make it happen.

As Luc lay there in the bed thinking and trying to get comfortable in the bed, he realised that he would need to have to get something done to fix his leg. How else was he going to be able to run around after Ava when she started walking?  
Then it dawned on him, he knew someone in London who could help him with that too.

Luc soon fell fast asleep. He was woken about 7 hours later by a bright morning sun beaming in the gap between the two curtains. He grabbed his phone and called Eddie in the ward. He explained to her that he needed to go to London on business for a few hours but that he would see them both later that evening. Luc got up, got dressed and headed for London.

_Sorry peeps, this will be your last fix for a few days. I'm off swimming with our very own munchkin (my baby niece) tomorrow after work so won't have time to update it tomorrow._ E xx.


	5. Chapter 5

Thanks for the lovely reviews. Here's a little bit more...

Chapter 9:

Luc made his way into the hospital and up to AAU. He was quite tired after his day in London but was looking forward to seeing his girls again. He got into AAU and made his way to Eddie's room without seeing anyone he recognised. He opened the door to Eddie's room but there was another patient in Eddie's bed. A wave of panic started washing over him. He backed out of the room. He turned around and saw Sacha standing at the nurses station.

"Oh hey Luc. What are you doing here?" Sacha asked.

"Where's Eddie? Has something happened?" Luc asked panicing.

"No, she's fine. Didn't anyone tell you they moved her up to maternity to be nearer the baby?" Sacha asked.

"Oh, thank god! No they hadn't" replied Luc relieved.

"Yes, they moved her a few hours ago as she was so much better. They're talking about letting her go home tomorrow if her tests are ok" replied Sacha.

"That's good news" replied Luc. "I'll go up to her. Thanks for all your help with her. I'll see you later" continued Luc and her left AAU.

He made his way to the lift and headed to the third floor. He hated using the lift and had to think of something pleasant while in it to stop himself panicing. However, with his injured leg climbing the stairs was too painful.

He buzzed the door at maternity and a nurse let him in. She directed him to Eddie's bed. She was on a ward with 5 other new mothers. She was in the end bed beside the door. As he walked in Eddie was sitting up in bed giving Ava a bottle. Eddie smiled when she saw Luc.

"Hey you two. How are my two best girls today?" Luc asked. He walked up to Eddie and gave her a quick kiss on the lips. He then bent down and gave Ava a kiss on the forhead.

"We're very good, aren't we Ava?" Eddie said. "The doctors have said I can leave tomorrow but that they want to keep Ava in for another week or so until she puts on a few more ounces in weight" Eddie explained.

"Well that is good news" replied Luc.

Ava finished her bottle and Eddie handed her to Luc to wind her. He put her over his shoulder and gently rubbed her back. She let out a loud burp and some drool came out of her mouth.

"That's a good girl. You know what, I think you've gotten heavier" Luc said as he cuddled Ava.

"They weighed her today, she's put on 2 ounces over the last few days" replied Eddie.

"Wow, that's very good. Our big girl" replied Luc. Luc sat down in the chair beside Eddie's bed cradling Ava until she went back to sleep.

"How was London?" Eddie asked intrigued about Luc's sudden trip there.

"It was very good. I went to see a friend to mine from Uni who's an orthopedic surgeon with a practice on Harley street. He took some scans of my leg and he said that he can fix it but it's going to mean an operation and about 2 months in plaster afterwards" replied Luc. He didn't mention the other reason he had gone to London, he'd leave that for later.

"That's brilliant news. How soon can you have it done?" asked Eddie.

"He can do it in a few weeks time. I just have to fix a date with him for it. It's going to be tough looking after Ava while I'm in plaster though" Luc replied.

"It'll be fine. We'll cope, dont worry. It wont be for long" replied Eddie trying to reassure him.

"Yes, I'm sure we will. You'll get to practice your nursing skills again looking after me and the baby" replied Luc smiling.

"I couldn't think of two patients I'd rather look after" replied Eddie smiling. Luc got up and put Ava back in her incubator. He went over to Eddie's bed and sat down beside her.

"Well if you're sure then I'll give him a call tomorrow and arrange the surgery" replied Luc. He gave Eddie a lingering kiss on the lips.

"You know what I'm starving, I havent eaten since breakfast. Do you think they'd let me order in a take away?" Luc asked.

"I wouldn't say so. I'd murder a burger and chips myself, the hospital food's awful" replied Eddie.

"You dont mind of I go off and get something do you?" Luc asked.

"No, you work away. I'm going to have a little sleep anyway" replied Eddie. Luc gave Eddie a quick kiss.

"Ok, I'll be back in about half an hour" Luc replied. Luc got up and walked out of the ward.

Chapter 10:

Luc came back to the maternity ward about half an hour later. He grabbed a wheelchair and made his way over to Eddie's bed. He gently woke her up.

"Luc, what's going on?" she asked.

"Come on, I'm kidnapping you for a few hours" Luc said cryptically. He helped Eddie up out of the bed. She put on her dressing gown and got into the wheelchair.

"Where are we going?" asked Eddie as Luc wheeled her out of the ward and over to the lift.

"It's a surprise" replied Luc. They got into the lift and Luc pressed the button for the top floor. They got out of the lift and Luc wheeled Eddie over to the door to the roof.

"Can you walk a few steps?" Luc asked.

"Course I can" replied Eddie defiantly. Luc helped her up and they made their way out onto the roof. It was dark outside but Eddie noticed a blanket on the ground surrounded by candles. There were more blankets folded up and glasses and plates on top of the blanket.

"What's all this?" Eddie asked.

"Just a little moonlight picnic" replied Luc with a smile.

They made their way over to the picnic blanket and sat down. Eddie could smell food. Luc got out some glasses and filled them with orange juice.

"What's in the bag?" Eddie asked.

"Indian food" Luc joked. He took out a brown paper bag from the insulated bag and handed it to her. Eddie peered inside, she didnt need to guess what it was she knew by the smell.

"You didn't?" she asked as she took the burger and chips out of the bag and laid them on the plate in front of her.

"I did. A bacon double cheeseburger and chips from Luigi's, your favourite" replied Luc grinning like a cheshire cat.

"Luc, I love you!" Eddie exclaimed. "I've been dreaming about one of these for months" continued Eddie drooling.

Luc laughed at her and watched in amazement as Eddie polished off the burger in 6 bites. He ate his own burger and chips and drank the juice.

When they were finished eating Eddie started to feel cold so Luc grabbed one of the folded up blankets and wrapped it around her. He cleared all of the food waste away and they laid down on the picnic blanket looking up at the stars. Luc pulled another blanket over the two of them as they cuddled up together.

"Eddie, there was another reason why I went to London" Luc admitted.

"Oh yes, what was it?" she asked.

"I wanted to sort some legal things out" replied Luc. He pulled some paperwork out of his jacket's inside pocket. He handed it to her.

Eddie opened the first page, it read "Last will and testament".

"You made a will? Is there something you're not telling me?" Eddie asked getting worried.

"No, I just wanted to make sure that you and Ava will be looked after in case anything ever happens to me. You know what happened in India and how close I came to losing my life. If anything like that happens again I just wanted you two to be ok financially. Have a look at the bank book?" Luc asked.

Eddie opened the bank book that was with the will document and gasped in shock. "Let me get this straight, this is a bank book saying there's a million pounds in a bank account with mine and Ava's names on it" replied Eddie in shock.

"Yes, you just have to fill out some forms in the bank and it's all yours to do whatever you want with" Luc replied matter of factly.

"Luc, where the hell did you get that kind of money?" Eddie asked.

"I've never told you much about my family but I suppose I had better tell you it now. My mothers family are very wealthy, I mean filthy rich. My grandfather was a very successful businessman. He hoped my mother would work for him in the family business but all she wanted to do was spend her trust fund money on men and drugs. She spent her time flitting from one country to the next partying using the family money and dragged me along with her for years until she finally succumbed to a drugs overdose when I was 19 years old. Fortunately for me my grandparents had taken me away from her when I was twelve and brought me back to England. They put me in boarding school but looked after me on the holidays. Grandfather William and grandma Lilly were very loving and were very encouraging when I said I wanted to become a doctor. They paid for my education. When I turned 21 I inherited a trust fund of my own but after seeing what the money had done to my mother I didnt want it so I left it sitting there in the bank thinking that I could do something good with it some day. Well anyway, that's where that money is from" Luc explained.

Eddie looked at him in shock. "You mean you're a millionaire and you never let on?" Eddie asked.

"Yes, but dont tell anyone. Money changes the way people treat you. When you're rich you dont know whether your friends like you for you or for your money. I saw it happen with my mother all the time. People would only be her friend to get money from her and I didnt want that. I dont want that to happen to Ava either so I'm asking you not to tell her about the money until she's mature enough to handle it" Luc replied.

"So does that mean I'm not allowed to spend this money?" asked Eddie.

"No, of course not. We're going to need to get alot of baby stuff and will need something to live on until I can go back to work. I'm just saying I dont want you to splash it around" Luc explained.

"My boyfriend's a secret millionaire" Eddie said to herself. And here I was thinking I finally knew everything about the man I love Eddie thought to herself.

"So what happened to your grandfather's business?" Eddie asked.

"It's still going strong. Grandma Lilly runs it with the help of a board of directors. She lives in a big house in Chelsea" Luc explained.

"When's the last time you saw her?" asked Eddie.

"I was staying with her after I came back from India and I spoke to her today to tell her about how she's become a great-grandmother. She can't wait to see Ava" replied Luc.

"We'll have to bring Ava to see her when she gets out of hospital" replied Eddie.

"She's offered to let us stay with her while I'm up in London having my operation. I told her I'd have to talk to you about it first" replied Luc.

"Sounds good. It would be lovely to meet her and find out more about your family" replied Eddie.

"Good, I'll talk to her tomorrow then" replied Luc. Luc gave Eddie a lingering kiss on the lips and laid back down. He pulled her to him tightly and looked up at the stars. He hoped that the whole money thing wouldn't change the way Eddie thought of him.

Eddie lay there trying to digest what Luc had just told her. She could understand why he didn't want people to know that he was rich and was looking forward to meeting his grandmother.

A few minutes later Eddie started to get really cold so Luc brought her back to the ward.


	6. Chapter 6

Hi all, sorry for the delay in updating this, lots of housework and gardening to catch up on. oh, the joy! Thanks for the lovely reviews. I hope you like this next bit...

Chapter 11:

It was about 6 days later and the night before Ava was being released from the hospital. Eddie lay in her bed waiting for Luc to join her for their last night alone together for probably 18 years or so. She reflected on the last 6 days which had been a whirlwind of shopping trips, visits to the hospital to look after Ava and hours spent putting together the baby furniture. She laughed to herself as she thought about Luc trying to put together the cot. How could such an intelligent man have such trouble working out which bits of the cot fit together? she asked herself. They say highly intelligent people arent very good at practical things and Luc appeared to be a great example of this. She'd have to do all the DIY around the place herself from now on.

She though about what had surprised her over the last few days, on their trip to mothercare to buy the baby furniture she had had to stop Luc buying the most expensive cot and pushchair in the place. Nothing but the best for his little princess he'd said to her. She had to use her powers of persuasion to convince him that the mid-range cot and pushchair were prefectly acceptable, especially when they took into account that Ava would only need them for a year or two at most. She was surprised that Luc had had this reaction to becoming a father. She remembered back to what was supposed to have been their last night in Kerala together and how nervous she had been about tellng him that she was pregnant. She'd been dreading telling him about the pregnancy for the whole week before it. She'd been sure that with his doctors instincts he probably would have already guessed, but he was genuinely shocked when she finally told him she was pregnant. He 'd admitted to her that the thought of becoming a father scared him as he wasnt sure if he'd be any good at it. This was one of the reasons why she wasnt surprised when she woke up the following day to find him gone. Just as she was thinking this Luc joined her in bed.

Luc looked at Eddie sitting up in bed with a thoughtful expression on her face and asked "A penny for your thoughts".

"Oh, nothing really, I was just thinking back to when I told you I was pregnant in India and how the way you've been acting since Ava's come along has surprised me" Eddie explained.

"How do you mean?" asked Luc puzzled.

"Well, to be honest, I didnt think you'd take to fatherhood so well. You just seem to be a natural at it, that's surprised me" Eddie revealed.

"I've surprised myself too" replied Luc. "But when the nurse put Ava into my arms for the first time in the operating theatre and she looked up at me with those gorgeous blue eyes it was like a bolt of electricity went through me from head to toe. I'd never felt such a feeling of love wash over me, well not since the first time we kissed in the wetlab. I guess those feelings have just spurred me on. Beside, anthropologically speaking it would be a natural thing for a father to experience feelings like that for his children, it gives him a reason to keep them safe and ultimately ensure that his DNA is carried on through future generations" replied Luc going all science nerd on her.

"You really experienced that?" asked Eddie.

"Oh yes. It was a strange experience, it took me a few minutes to figure out what it was" replied Luc.

A sad expression came over Eddie's face.

"What's wrong?" asked Luc.

"It's just that I didn't feel that when I first held Ava" replied Eddie.

"Eddie, the way parents bond with their children is different for everyone. I read a study recently which suggests that when a child isnt born in a natural birth that it can take longer for the mother and child to form a bond. They said it can take months for the mother and child to become fully bonded in these cases so I wouldnt worry, you and Ava will develop that bond, its just going to happen slowly" replied Luc reassuringly. Luc wrapped his arm around Eddie and pulled her close. He kissed her on the forhead.

"Thank you. I hope you're right" Eddie replied.

"Course I am, you just have to give it some time" Luc said reassurigly.

"You know what, sometimes I'm glad you're such a nerd. It comes in handy every now and then" replied Eddie teasing him.

"Oh, I'm a nerd am I?" asked Luc playfully trying to tickle her.

"Yes, but a very handsome nerd" Eddie replied laughing while trying to fight him off. After a few seconds she gave in, Luc pushed her hands over her head and gently started kissing her passionately on the lips. Eddie pulled her lips away from his and whispered "You do realise that this is going to be our last night of freedom for god know's how long?".

"We'd better make the most of it then hadn't we" replied Luc seductively as he started upbuttoning Eddie's pyjama top.

Chapter 12:

The following day Luc and Eddie brought little Ava home from hospital, they slowly got into a routine of feeding time, nappy changing, and nap times. Before they knew it, it was 5 weeks later and it was the day before Luc's operation to fix his leg. They packed up their new people-carrier with the travel cot, push chair and all their luggage and headed to London to Luc's grandmother's house in Chelsea. The drive took a little longer than they had expected as they had to make a couple of stops to change nappies and give Ava her bottle. They pulled up outside the house at about five in the afternoon. Eddie's jaw dropped wide open when they pulled up to the house. She wouldn't call it a house, more a mansion. It had its own high walls around it, a massive gate and a huge driveway that would easily hold ten cars.

"Luc, you didn't say your grandmother lived in a mansion?" Eddie said as they got out of the car. Eddie suddenly started to feel underdressed. She was wearing a long black flowing skirt down to her ankles with a white shirt and navy cardigan over it. She looked at Luc in his combat trousers, blue t-shirt and matching blue shirt and felt even worse.

"I didnt want to get you worried. My grandmother's very informal, dont worry about it" Luc replied.

"I wouldn't be surprised if they take one look at us and ask us to go around to the back door" replied Eddie.

"Course they wont, they're expecting us" Luc said as he opened the back door of the car and gently lifted Ava in her car seat out of the car. She was sleeping soundly, oblivious to what was going on around her.

The front door of the house opened and a butler and a number of other men dressed in uniforms came out.

"Hello Bentley" Luc said to the older man who Eddie assumed correctly was the butler.

"Hello Master Luc" replied Bentley. "And who have we got here?" asked Bentley.

"Bentley, this is my partner Eddie and our little lady Ava" replied Luc introducing Eddie and Ava.

"Oh, master Luc, what beauties they both are!" replied Bentley. Luc blushed.

"Where's grandma Lilly?" asked Luc trying to regain his composure.

"She's in her study with some of the directors, they'll be finished their meeting shortly. Lets get you three settled in your rooms in the meantime" replied Bentley. Bentley led them into the house as the other uniformed men emptied out the car.

They walked into a very grand hallway with a marble staircase going up the middle of it, the staircase split in two halway up. The hallway had dark wood paneling on the walls. Eddie gulped when she saw the place, this is like something out of Downtown Abbey, she thought to herself. Eddie looked around in awe.

Bentley led them up the stairs to the first floor bedrooms.

"This will be your room Miss Eddie" Bentley said opening a grand heavy oak bedroom door. Eddie walked in and looked around, there was a four poster bed, large dressing table, wardrobe and even a beautiful cot for Ava in the room.

"Wow, this is beautiful" replied Eddie. A young lady dressed in a maid's uniform entered the room.

"This is Eve, she'll be looking after you for your stay. If you need anything please let her know" said Bentley.

"Thank you" replied Eddie.

"Master Luc, you'll be staying in your usual room next door" Bentley said turning to Luc.

"Great, thank you Bentley" replied Luc.

"Our men will bring up your belongings for you. You three have a rest and I will call you when Miss Lilly is ready for you. Would you like any refreshments in the meantime?" asked Bentley.

Eddie and Luc looked at each other. "No, I think we're ok for now, thank you" replied Luc.

Bentley and Eve left the room. Luc put Ava, chair and all down on top of the bed.

"Well, what do you think?" asked Luc.

"Wow, this place is gorgeous. But what's with the separate bedrooms?" Eddie asked.

"Sorry, Lilly is very old-fashioned. She only lets married couples share bedrooms. But look, an adjoining door, so we can go in and out to each other's rooms" Luc replied while opening a door in the middle of the wall that looked like the wall.

"Wow, I've always wanted to stay in a room with a secret door" Eddie replied smirking. "Sneaking around like teenagers again, this will be fun!".

Eddie walked over to the bed to see what it was like. She sat down on it. "Mmmm, very comfortable. I dont think I've every slept in four-poster bed before" she said.

Eddie laid back down on the bed. Luc came over and sat down beside her, he laid down beside her. They looked at each other.

"I cant believe you went from this to living in your campervan" she said to Luc.

"I was a bit of a difference alright" replied Luc laughing. "But you know what, I think I was happier living in my little campervan, it had everything I needed. Even a beautiful woman in it sometimes" he continued.

"You'd better be talking about me!" replied Eddie smiling.

"Of course I am" replied Luc before he kissed her gently on the lips. They rolled over facing each other and kissed each other some more. Just then Ava started to cry.

"Saved by the baby" Eddie said breaking away.

"You know, I swear she does that deliberately" muttered Luc. He got up off the bed and went to find the baby changing bag.


	7. Chapter 7

Hi all, thanks for the reviews, glad you are liking this so far.

Chapter 13:

About an hour later there was a knock on Eddie's bedroom door. Luc and Eddie were lying on top of the bed playing with baby Ava who was now wide awake after being fed and changed. Luc had Ava lying on top of his chest on her front and Eddie was lying beside them dangling Ava's favorite toy, a stuffed frog, in front of her trying to make her smile.

"Come in" Luc shouted as there was another knock on the door.

Bentley entered the room. "Master Luc, Miss Eddie, Miss Lilly would like to see you now and dinner is almost ready" Bentley said.

"Thank you, we'll be down in a minute" Luc replied. Luc and Eddie got up off the bed and put Ava into her car seat to bring her downstairs. Eddie stopped Luc before they left the room.

"How do I look?" she asked nervously.

"You look fine, although you might want to pat down your hair at the back" Luc replied. Lying on the bed had roughed up Eddie's hair. Eddie took a quick look at herself in the mirror and fixed her hair. She turned around to Luc and grabbed his arm.

"Stop for a second, your shirt's all creased at the back" she said as she grabbed Luc. She tried her best to straighten out the shirt.

Luc looked at her smiling. "Dont be so nervous, Lilly's going to love you, dont worry" he said trying to reassure her.

"How do you know that? What if she thinks I'm some gold-digger after your money?" Eddie asked panicing.

"She won't. She knows we've been together a long time and that you didnt know about the money stuff until recently. I told her that" Luc said trying to reassure her yet again.

"Come on, lets go down. Lilly doesnt bite, I promise" Luc said as he grabbed Eddie's hand and led her out of the bedroom.

They made their way downstairs and Bentley directed them into the living room. Luc walked in first closely followed by Eddie carrying Ava in her seat. The room was bright and airy with high ceilings and beautiful antique furniture. Eddie looked around, taking in the room. Luc walked straight over to a grey-haired petite woman who was sitting on one of the couches reading the paper. She put down the paper when she saw Luc approach and got up.

"Grandma Lilly, how are you?" Luc asked before hugging the woman.

"Luc, my darling! So lovely to see you again. But I do wish you'd stop calling me grandma. It makes me sound positively ancient" Lilly said.

"Ok, I will. Can I introduce you to my partner Eddie and your great-granddaughter Ava" Luc asked.

"Oh, how wonderful!" Lilly exclaimed.

Luc beckoned Eddie over. It took him a few seconds to get her attention as she was stairing at a painting of a gentleman over the fireplace.

"Eddie, this is Lilly" Luc said as Eddie put out her hand to shake Lilly's hand. Lilly ignored her hand and pulled Eddie into a hug.

"So nice to finally meet you, darling. Luc's told me so much about you. It's nice to finally see you" Lilly said warmly.

"Nice to meet you too" replied Eddie nervously.

"And this must be little Ava" Lilly said looking down at Ava in her carseat.

"Yes, our little lady, Ava Lilly" Luc said. Eddie put the carseat down on the couch and lifted Ava out of it.

"How wonderful, you named her after me!" Lilly exclaimed. "Isn't she darling in her little pink dress and matching tights" Lilly gushed.

"You're lucky, you got her at a good time, she's just been fed and changed. You should see her when she's not happy" Luc said laughing.

Ava grabbed Lilly's finger, holding onto it tightly.

"I think she likes you" Eddie said smiling.

"I love babies, especially at this age. I always wanted more children than Luc's mother but unfortunately it just didnt happen" Lilly said sadly.

"I'm sorry to hear that" replied Eddie.

"You dont realise how lucky you are these days with all the medical advances they have now, fertility treatments and heart operations and all that. It's amazing what they can do. Did Luc tell you I had to have emergency heart surgery a few years ago? I was very lucky they got me when they did, otherwise I might not be standing here today. Luc was so good, he gave up work for a few months to look after me" Lilly continued.

Eddie looked at Luc but he was too busy trying to entertain Ava. Eddie wondered whether that was the time he left Holby without a word to anyone.

"No he didn't" replied Eddie.

"He's such a good man. I'm glad he's found himself a nice girl like you Eddie. I've never seen him so happy" Lilly said as she watched Luc walk around the room showing Ava all of the pictures on the walls.

"I'm very lucky to have him. Although if you'd seen us when we first met you'd never have thought we would have ended up together. We used to fight with each other all the time" Eddie replied smiling.

"You know what, Luc's grandfather and I were like that when we first met too and we ended up being happily married for 52 years" replied Lilly smiling.

"Is that him in the painting over the fireplace?" Eddie asked.

"Why yes, it is" replied Lilly.

"He was very handsome wasn't he. I can see Luc in him" Eddie replied.

"Yes, you can, can't you" replied Lilly.

Just then Bentley entered the room to announce that dinner was ready.


	8. Chapter 8

Thanks for the reviews, sorry the last chapter was a short one, not feeling too good at the mo but will soldier on. E. xx.

Chapter 14:

Bentley opened the double doors from the living room to the dining room and led them into the dining room. An enormous table that could seat twenty people took up most of the room. They made their way to the far end of the table where three places were set. Lilly sat at the top of the table with Luc on one side and Eddie on the other. Eddie put Ava in her carseat on the chair beside her so she could keep an eye on her while she ate. Ava's eyes were starting to look heavy so Eddie hoped that she might fall asleep giving her a chance to eat her dinner.

"Is she ok?" Luc asked Eddie referring to Ava.

"Yes, I think she's falling asleep. All of the excitement of the last few hours must have worn her out" Eddie replied.

"If you want Eve can take her upstairs and keep an eye on her for you. She's good with children. She looked after her younger siblings when she was younger" Lilly said.

"Thank you, but I think she'll be ok here. Once she falls asleep you could run a herd of elephants past Ava and she wouldn't wake up" replied Eddie smiling.

"Yes, she likes her sleep alright" Luc agreed.

"Ok darling. But if you ever need her help Eve will be glad to help with Ava" Lilly replied.

Bentley and the other male servants brought in the first course, the soup.

Eddie and Luc gladly gupled it down, being new parents meant that they rarely had time to eat properly.

"You two looked like you enjoyed that" Lilly said smiling.

"It was very tasty, thank you" replied Luc.

"It's your favourite for main course, roast beef and yorkshire pudding" Lilly said to Luc.

"Sounds good" replied Eddie. "It was funny, when I lived in England before going to India I never really bothered with English food but when I was in India I missed it like crazy" continued Eddie.

"Could you not get English food over there?" Lilly asked.

"You could in a few places but it wasnt as good as you'd get here" replied Eddie.

"Well I'm sure you'll like cook's roast beef then, it's really good" replied Lilly.

The main course was brought out and the room fell silent as all three enjoyed their meals. when they had finished their dinners Lilly was the first one to speak.

"What time are you having your operation tomorrow?" Lilly asked Luc.

"I'm having it at 2pm but have to be at the clinic at about noon as they want to do some scans and tests before it" replied Luc.

"How long is it going to take?" asked Lilly.

"Roger says it should take about four hours, but it depends on how badly damaged my leg is" replied Luc. "I'll have to stay in overnight after it but should be allowed home the following day" Luc continued.

"Well, you know you're welcome to stay here as long as you want to after the operation. It will be nice to have some company for a few weeks. This house can get a bit lonely with only me rattling around in it most of the time" replied Lilly.

"Thank you. But you might regret saying that when you hear this little one screaming her head off at three in the morning" replied Eddie smiling and pointing to Ava.

Lilly laughed. "It's been a long time since we've had a crying baby in this house. The last time was probably when Luc was a baby" Lilly said.

"Wow, 40 years ago. That's a long time ago" replied Eddie teasing Luc.

"I am not forty yet" Luc replied in a mock hurt tone. Lilly laughed at them having their little argument.

"Why dont we take our coffee and deserts into the living room where it's more comfortable?" Lilly asked.

"Sounds good" replied Eddie.

They had their drinks and desert. Lilly asked Luc more detailed questions about the operation and then they started discussing the family business. Eddie was soon asleep on the couch.

After a while Luc and Lilly decided it was getting late and was time to go upstairs. Luc gently woke Eddie up. They all said goodnight and made their way to their rooms.

Chapter 15:

Luc went into his bedroom and quickly changed into his pyjamas. He used the secret door to go into Eddie's bedroom. Eddie was just finishing changing Ava into her babygrow for the night. Luc came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her. He kissed her on the neck. Eddie smiled and enjoyed the moment.

"Do you want to give Ava her final bottle of the night?" she asked Luc.

"Yes, in a minute" he mumbled in between kissing Eddie's neck. Ava started crying as she was hungry.

"I think your daughter is hungry, feed her first and then we can have some fun" Eddie whispered to him. Luc broke away from Eddie and picked up Ava. Eddie handed him Ava's bottle.

"Ok, ok princess. Here's your bottle" Luc said as he started to give Ava her bottle. Luc sat down on the edge of the bed while he fed Ava.

Eddie used the free time to tidy up the room and get changed for bed. She pulled back the covers and climbed into bed, sitting at the top of it. Ava finished her bottle so Luc handed her to Eddie so she could wind her. Luc climbed in under the covers and sat beside Eddie in the bed.

"Did you enjoy meeting your great-grandmother?" Eddie asked Ava. Ava just gurgled back at her.

"What did you think of Lilly?" Luc asked Eddie.

"Oh, she's lovely. I dont know why I was so nervous about meeting her" Eddie replied.

"She loved you, I told you she would" Luc said smugly.

"Ok, maybe you were right this time. It's about time you got something right" Eddie said teasing Luc.

"What are you talking about? I'm always right" Luc replied smirking.

"No, that's what I let you think" replied Eddie laughing.

Luc laughed and stuck his tounge out at her. Ava giggled at them. Luc grabbed the stuffed frog off the dressing table and started making it dance to amuse Ava. She was soon falling asleep so Eddie got up out of bed and put Ava in her cot. She got back into bed and cuddled up to Luc. Luc wrapped his arm around her and kissed her on the top of her head.

"Are you nervous about tomorrow?" Eddie asked Luc.

"A bit. You know the worst thing about being a surgeon is that you know all of the things that can go wrong during surgery. It makes you even more nervous when you're the one being operated on" replied Luc matter-of-factly.

"I'm sure you'll be fine. Roger's a good surgeon isn't he?" Eddie said trying to reassure Luc.

"He's supposed to be the best orthopedic surgeon in the U.K." replied Luc.

"Well then. There's no need to be nervous about it is there?" Eddie replied.

"I suppose you're right" Luc replied.

"I always am" replied Eddie smugly.

Luc looked at Eddie and smiled. He kissed her passionately on the lips. He pulled away.

"Where would I be without you?" Luc asked.

"I have no idea" replied Eddie as she pulled him to her to kiss him again.

Ava woke up for her feed and nappy change at 4am, Luc looked after her and got back into bed. Ava woke them again at about 8.30 am. Eddie looked after her this time while Luc put back on his pyjamas and used the secret door to go back into his own room. He knew that Bentley would soon be knocking on his door to wake him up for breakfast.


	9. Chapter 9

Sorry for the delay in updating this, I was away for a few days. Thanks for all the lovely reviews so far. I hope you like this next part.

Chapter 16:

After breakfast Lilly's driver brought Luc, Eddie and Ava to the clinic where Luc was to have his surgery. Lilly had had her breakfast earlier and had gone out to a charity meeting she wasnt able to get out of. She had promised Luc the night before that she would be there in the clinic to see him after his surgery. The driver dropped them off outside the clinic and told Eddie to give him a call when she wanted to be picked up. Eddie grabbed Luc's hand while holding Ava in her car seat in the other and they walked into the clinic reception. They were quickly ushered up to the second floor to a private room. A nurse asked Luc to get changed into a gown and told him that Dr Waters or Roger as Luc knew him would be with them shortly.

Eddie put the sleeping Ava down on a seat to one side of the bed and watched as Luc undressed. Eddie folded up his clothes nervously and put them in a wardrobe in the room as Luc took them off. Luc watched Eddie fold up the clothes and he could tell she was nervous as she rarely folded her own clothes so he knew there was definately something wrong. Luc grabbed her by the hand as Eddie reached over to grab his trousers from the bed.

"Hey, dont be so nervous, It'll be fine" Luc said trying to reassure her.

"I'm not nervous" Eddie protested.

"I know you are. You never ever fold clothes at home. Either you're nervous or you've turned into Martha Stewart all of a sudden" replied Luc teasing her.

Eddie frowned. "Ok, maybe I'm a bit nervous" she admitted reluctantly.

Luc pulled Eddie over to him as he sat on the edge of the bed. He stroked her face.

"No matter what Roger is able to do today, at least my leg will be better than it is now. Any improvement at all will be a bonus. Dont worry, Roger knows what he's doing. He was the only one in our class at Uni who got better results than me in his exams, he's a very clever fellow. Ok?" Luc said.

"Ok. If you say so" Eddie replied giving him a weak smile. Luc pulled Eddie in closer and gave her a lingering kiss on the lips. The door opened and Roger walked in. He was a tall man with dark black curly hair and glasses. Eddie looked at him, he reminded her of Elliot Hope for some reason.

"Hello Luc, how are you feeling?" Roger asked with a slight Scottish accent.

"I'm fine Roger. Raring to go" replied Luc. "Roger, this is my partner Eddie and our daugher Ava is over there in her chair" Luc continued introducing Eddie and Ava to him.

"Nice to meet you" Roger said to Eddie before looking down at the chart in front of him.

"Nice to meet you too" replied Eddie but Roger didnt look up from the chart.

"Right Luc, we'll have to get a set of scans done and some x-rays done before the surgery just so that I'll have a better idea of what I'm dealing with" Roger said getting down to business. "I'll send in the nurse to organise those for you in a few minutes. I'll just have to get you to answer some questions for me first" Roger continued.

"No problem" replied Luc.

Roger went through some questions about allergies, heart problems, and family medical history with Luc. Luc answered them all as best he could.

"Ok, that's perfect" replied Roger. "I'll be back to see you in about an hour when all the scans are done and we'll discuss what the plan is for the operation then" Roger continued.

"Ok" replied Luc. Roger quickly left the room.

"He's a bit of a strange one" Eddie said.

"Yes, sorry about that. Roger's a great surgeon but quite shy around women. He's actually better than he used to be, he could barely speak to a woman when we were at Uni. Although, when he had a few beers he got very chatty with them" Luc said smiling as he remembered some of their Uni nights out.

"I know a few people like that myself" replied Eddie smiling.

Luc turned serious. "Listen, I dont want you two to hang around here during the surgery. It's not good for Ava to be cooped up inside all day. You should go back to Lilly's for a few hours and come back to see me later when the surgery's over" Luc said.

"Are you sure?" asked Eddie.

"Yes, I'm going to be unconscious for a few hours and then groggy for another one or so. There's no point in you hanging around. I'll ask Roger to get them to call you when the surgery's over and let you know how it went" Luc replied.

"Ok, maybe I'll bring Ava for a walk around that park in front of Lilly's house later" Eddie replied.

"Good idea. It's a very nice place" replied Luc.

The nurse came in and brough Luc off for his scans. Eddie stayed behind in the room and soon had Ava to look after as she woke up looking to be fed and changed. Eddie played with her for a while until Luc came back.

Luc took Ava and started playing with her. "How's my little princess?" he asked Ava. Ava just smiled at him.

"Daddy's going in for surgery soon so when you're bigger he can run around after you and play with you" Luc explained to Ava. She gurgled back at him and started waving her hands around. Eddie looked on and laughed at them. Luc began making funny faces at Ava and she laughed at him.

Roger soon came in and discussed the surgery with them. Roger and Luc were surprised at some of the questions Eddie had asked about the surgery. Roger left them alone.

"How do you know so much about this?" Luc asked her as he was surprised at her knowledge of the topic.

"I worked in an orthopedics ward in Leeds for a few months after I got my nursing degree" Eddie explained.

"And here I was thinking I knew everything about you" replied Luc smiling.

"I'm full of surprises" Eddie replied smiling. Luc noticed that she seemed happier about the surgery now. The time came for Luc to go into surgery. Eddie leaned over him as he laid flat on the trolley. She gave him a lingering kiss on the lips.

"I love you. See you in a few hours" she whispered to him.

"I love you too. See you soon" Luc whispered back giving her a weak smile.

Eddie held Ava over Luc and he gave her a kiss and told her he loved her too. "See you this evening princess" Luc whispered to Ava.

Eddie and Ava watched as Luc was wheeled into theatre. Eddie called Lilly's driver and he arrived shortly after to pick her up and bring her back to Lilly's house.

Chapter 17:

Eddie arrived back at the house and was tired. She sat down in the living room on the couch for a while. Bentley brought her tea and scones which perked her up. She walked around the room looking at some of the family photos in frames on the shelves and cabinets. There was one in particular of a beautiful brunette woman holding a young baby. Eddie stared at it for a few minutes. She wondered if it was Luc's mother in the photo. She was interrupted by Ava gurgling in her sleep. Eddie looked back at Ava but she was fast asleep. She looked at the photo again and noticed the resemblance between the baby in the photo and Ava. She wandered around the room looking at other photos and pictures on the walls.

The door creaked open and Lilly entered the room.

"Eddie, my darling. How did everything go?" Lilly asked when she saw Eddie.

"It was fine. They think he'll be in surgery for about 5 hours and in recovery after for another hour so we can go to see him at about 7 pm or so" replied Eddie.

"Very good. How was Luc?" Lilly asked.

"A little bit nervous at first but Roger managed to put his worries to rest" Eddie replied.

"That's good. I'm sure he'll be fine. In the meantime, what do you want to do?" Lilly asked.

"Well I wouldn't mind bringing Ava for a walk in her pushchair. She could do with some fresh air. What's that park like across the road?" Eddie asked.

"Oh, it's beautiful. I'll come with you if you like, I've been sitting in a stuffy meeting room all morning drinking tea and eating cakes and discussing fundraising for our charity. I could do with some fresh air too" Lilly replied smiling.

"That would be lovely" Eddie replied.

Lilly got Bentley to arrange for Ava's pushchair to be brought down. Lilly and Eddie put on their coats and got Ava settled in her pushchair and they headed for the park.

Eddie and Lilly gently strolled around the park with Eddie pushing Ava in her pram. They discussed Luc's operation and his recovery and made small talk as they went. Eventually Eddie felt comfortable enough with Lilly to ask her about the photo she had been looking at earlier of the woman and the baby.

"Is that photo in the silver frame beside the bookcase of Luc and his mother?" Eddie asked.

"Yes, it is" replied Lilly.

"What was she like?" Eddie asked nervously. "Luc has never really talked about her much except to say that she was complicated and that he traveled around with her alot and spent alot of time in hospitals with her when he was a child" Eddie continued.

"Eleanor was beautiful. A real daddy's little princess. Unfortunately, William spoiled her rotten. He gave her everything she wanted. I tried to get him to stop spoiling her but to no avail. Unfortunately, she though of me as the bad guy then. She always thought that I was trying to spoil her fun. She improved when she went to college, grew up a bit and settled down. While she was in college she started seeing Charles. He was from a well-off family too and was a real adventurer. He loved fast cars. Charles and his friends would drive around Europe in the summer racing their cars on all of the racing car tracks like Le Mans and all those other ones. Unfortunately Charles was fatally wounded in one of their car races and died soon after. Eleanor completely broke down. She didnt get out of bed for a month, she was sobbing constantly. William arranged for Eleanor and some of her friends to go to the Bahamas on a holiday to try to cheer her up. It seemed to work. They went wild in the Bahamas, having parties and staying out all night. Eleanor came back much improved but spent alot of her nights out partying with her friends. About 2 months after she came back from the holiday Eleanor discovered she was pregnant with Luc. She settled down and looked like she was going to be a good mother but when Luc was a few months old Eleanor started going out partying again. However, this time she started dabbling in drugs too. She moved out of this house into an apartment we had in central London but didn't stay there long. She began traveling the world with Luc in tow with whatever boyfriend she had at the time. She kept doing drugs the whole time. William had to keep bailing her out, sending her money. It went on for years. When Luc was 12 years old Eleanor nearly died from a drugs overdose, they were living in Paris at the time. Luc was the one who discovered her unconscious and called the ambulance. He saved her life. When we heard, we went over to him immediately and brought him back here. Eleanor went to rehab but was soon back on the drugs again. We stood up to her and made the legal arrangements to make ourselves Luc's legal guardians. We sent Luc to boarding school. Eleanor got really mad at us for taking Luc away from her and disowned us. We didnt hear from her for years. Sadly when Luc was nineteen and in his first year at Uni we found out that Eleanor had died of a drugs overdose in a squalid flat in Paris. We were all devastated when we found out. William took it the hardest, he blamed himself for spoiling her so much. William never really got over it and died a year later" Lilly said as tears rolled down her face.

"Oh, my god. I'm so sorry Lilly" Eddie replied. She put her arms around Lilly cuddling her as she sobbed.

"I'm sorry to have brought back such painful memories to you" Eddie said apologetically.

Lilly dried her eyes. "It's ok. You're Luc's partner, you need to know what he's been through and why he is like he is" replied Lilly.

"Thank you for telling me. Now I understand why Luc acted the way he did when I had a problem with drugs" replied Eddie.

"You had a drug problem?" Lilly asked shocked.

"Yes, but I've been clean for years now and have no intention of going near them again" replied Eddie.

"what happened?" Lilly asked.

"Well, it all happened after Luc and I got together the first time. We were only together a few weeks when he disappeared suddenly without a word. No call, no text, nothing. I was devastated. A locum doctor Max came onto the ward to replace Luc and I started seeing him. We partied alot and Max started giving me these painkillers for my hangover. He got me addicted to them. Our friend Sacha found out and told Luc I was in trouble. Luc came back and got rid of Max. I made a show of myself at Sacha's wedding but Luc looked after me. He kidnapped me in his campervan and brought me to a field in the middle of nowhere and started getting me off the drugs. It seemed to be working but when I eventually went back to work I started taking the painkillers again. I collapsed in work and Luc looked after me. He called my brother Liam. I decided that the best thing to do was to go with my brother and get some proper help. So I left Luc behind in Holby while I went home to Leeds to get some treatment. It broke my heart to leave Luc that day but I knew that if I stayed with him and he tried to help me with my drug problem that it would ruin things between us. I never stopped loving Luc but when I got better I didnt think he'd want me back so I went traveling to India. A few months after I got there Luc arrived there looking for me. That was the best day of my life. I made a promise to myself and to Luc that day he found me in India that I would never go near drugs again. Besides, with Luc around, I dont need them. I've finally found someone who makes me truly happy and having Ava has made it even better" replied Eddie smiling.

"Wow, you two have been through alot. Thank you for being so honest with me, alot of people would hide the fact that they had a drug problem in the past. You know, I run a charity for recovering drug addicts, you should meet some of the people we are helping, I'm sure they'd like to hear your story" replied Lilly.

"Thank you. I'd like that" replied Eddie smiling. Eddie and Lilly hugged.

"Why dont we go back to the house and have something to eat? We can have a rest for a while then and then go to see Luc later this evening" Lilly suggested.

"That sounds like a plan" Eddie said smiling. Lilly took Eddie by the arm and they headed back to the house. Eddie was happy she had been honest with Lilly, she finally felt like Lilly had accepted her into the family.


End file.
